The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has been a transformative force, connecting over 22 million households. It helps low-income families harness the power of broadband and more fully participate in our digital economy. And it’s a true unicorn among public policies, attracting the support of 4 out of 5 Americans. Yet, the ACP is in trouble today. In mere months, it could run out of funds without timely action by Congress.
This sobering reality is widely understood in Washington. Receiving far less attention, however, is a solution hiding in plain sight. This fresh approach would allow this national commitment to continue uninterrupted. It would bring greater accountability to Big Tech. And it would create a stable, permanent source of funding that would safeguard the program from the uncertainties of the annual appropriations process.
Step One: Maintain Connectivity
Congress abandoning ACP funding a mere two years into its existence would be profoundly disruptive to the country’s digital affordability and equity goals. Immediate action is necessary on Capitol Hill to provide stop-gap funding to keep the program operational while a permanent fix is put in place. With timely legislative leadership, these long-term reforms could be achieved in one to two appropriations cycles.
Step Two: Modernize Universal Service
The foundation of permanent reform lies in the long overdue modernization of the Universal Service Fund (USF). The USF has been and will continue to be the source of the nation’s commitment to ensuring low-income households, rural Americans, and their health, education, and library facilities all have access to modern communications.
When the USF started, this meant voice telephone service. Unfortunately, decades later the funding mechanism continues to rely heavily on landlines – something nearly two-thirds of Americans have abandoned. I’d say this funding approach is the equivalent of a beeper in a broadband world, but it’s more troubling than that. The combination of rising program costs over the years and a dwindling base of customers footing the bill has led to an unsustainable burden on landline customers, especially aging Americans, that the USF exists to help.
Step Three: Bring Big Tech to the Table
Here’s the best part. Funding for both the ACP and USF can be stabilized for the long haul in one fell swoop by bringing Big Tech to the table as long-overdue contributors to the nation’s shared commitment to helping low-income families get – and stay – online.
Alphabet (Google’s parent) alone has a market cap of nearly $2 trillion – roughly twice that of the top 10 companies contributing roughly 77% of all universal service funding combined. Yet Google and others in the Big Tech pantheon like Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon contribute not a dime. These dominant Big Tech companies that benefit financially from the connectivity that USF makes possible should contribute.
Policymakers have long explored ways to hold these companies more accountable for their dominant market positions. Contributing to the nation’s effort to provide affordable and universal connectivity that is the foundation of their financial success is a great place to start. The FCC needs the legislative tools to do so, and there is growing momentum for this on Capitol Hill. Congress should give the FCC a bright green light to proceed.
Step 4: Streamline and Simplify
A modern funding formula can secure the future of both the ACP and Universal Service programs by spreading the financial and social responsibility more equitably across the internet ecosystem. Once these building blocks are in place, we should merge the ACP into the Universal Service Fund as one collective, coordinated national commitment to connecting the underserved.
While there’s no shortage of issues vying for attention in today’s news cycle, this policy fix deserves a higher profile and priority. With over 22 million connected households at risk and nearly 80% of voters lining up in support, unwinding this policy knot could deliver one of this town’s most meaningful real-world deliverables of the year.
The fate of ACP offers a telling gut check on whether our nation remains committed to our shared goal of connectivity. In this new year, we should all resolve to work collectively and urgently together to ensure our nation’s answer is a resounding yes.
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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.ustelecom.org/a-permanent-solution-for-connecting-low-income-families/